RICHMOND, Va. – Four ACC opponents, trips to Puerto Rico and Brooklyn, and a visit from rival Old Dominion highlight VCU's 2013-14 non-conference schedule, released Monday.

"We're looking forward to another highly competitive schedule," Head Coach Shaka Smart said. "Our team is extremely excited about taking on the challenge."

The Rams pull back the curtain on the 2013-14 regular season on Friday, Nov. 8, when they host Illinois State at the Verizon Wireless Arena. The Redbirds have won 39 games combined the last two seasons and earned an NIT bid in 2012.

On Nov. 12, Smart leads the Rams into Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena for the first time. The highly anticipated match-up will be the first meeting between UVA and VCU since 1998 and kicks off a two-year home-and-home series between the schools.

VCU returns home for a Nov. 16 contest with Winthrop before taking flight to the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan. The Rams open with ACC stalwart Florida State on Nov. 21. It will be the first meeting between the programs since VCU's thrilling 72-71 overtime victory over the Seminoles in the 2011 NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal in San Antonio.

On Nov. 29, VCU will rekindle its rivalry with former CAA foe Northeastern at the Verizon Wireless Arena. The Huskies are the defending CAA regular season champions and reached the conference's championship game last season.

In December, the Rams make road trips to Belmont (Dec. 1) and Northern Iowa (Dec. 14). Belmont has reached the NCAA Tournament five times since 2005, including last season, while Northern Iowa has been one of the Missouri Valley's top programs over the last decade. The Panthers won 21 games in 2012-13.

Rams fans can look forward to a Dec. 8 date at the Siegel Center for another battle with longtime rival Old Dominion. The Rams lead the all-time series between the two schools 46-42 and topped the Monarchs 83-70 last season in Norfolk.

The holiday season will bring the Rams a pair of ACC opponents. On Dec. 21, VCU will clash with intra-state foe Virginia Tech in the Governor's Holiday Hoops Classic at the Richmond Coliseum. VCU and Tech last met in 1995. On Dec. 28, the Rams return to action at Barclays Center, where they'll take on Boston College as part of the Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival.

VCU will also host Eastern Kentucky (Dec. 5), 25-10 a year ago, Wofford (Dec. 17), which won back-to-back Southern Conference Championships in 2010 and 2011, and Stony Brook (Jan. 3), a program coming off a 25-win campaign and an appearance in the second round of the NIT.

The Rams return six regulars from a squad that finished 27-9 last season and reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament.